Means has recently altered specifications with regard to its costing models. Therefore, it is not valid to compare this year’s figures with last year’s to determine percentage changes.

Ranking by expense

Among the four higher education types of structure set out in the table and graphs, it is most expensive to build a college dormitory. Next most expensive on a dollars-per-square-foot basis is a college laboratory building.

In third position is a college classroom and in fourth, a student union building. The difference from most expensive to least is relatively modest, a drop of only 17%.

Comparisons with other types of structure

A college dormitory, an apartment building and a hotel are all within the same ballpark when it comes to their square-foot cost of construction.

According to RSMeans, elementary, junior high, high and vocational schools are cheaper to build by up to one-fifth than facilities at the college level of education.

By far the most expensive types of structure to build are hospitals and jails, both upwards of $400 per square foot in the largest urban centers.

The cheapest types of structure to build are factories, warehouses and parking garages.

New York is the most expensive; cities in the South are least expensive

New York has the highest dollar-per-square-foot construction costs in the country. San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia are the other centers that make up the top five among major U.S. urban areas.

Relatively low-cost cities are mainly in the southeast and southwest, including Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas. New Orleans is also low cost despite the restoration that has been underway since Hurricane Katrina.

Kansas City, St.  Louis, Portland and Pittsburgh are smack dab in the middle among the 25 cities considered in the table and graphs. Cleveland, Washington, D.C. and Denver are in the low mid-range for construction costs among the 25 cities considered. Seattle, San Diego and Detroit are upper middle-range. Minneapolis is the sixth most expensive city in the nation.

On the Pacific Coast, dollar-per-square foot construction costs in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego are between 13% and 16% lower than in high-cost San Francisco. Portland is nearly one-fifth (18%) less expensive for building than the City by the Bay.   

Some other city comparisons

In some other city comparisons, it now costs about 32% more to build in Chicago than in Atlanta. The relationship is almost the same (+28%) between higher-cost Philadelphia and lower-cost Miami.

The mark-up in New York, the most expensive city among the 25 shown, and Winston-Salem, N.C., the least expensive, is almost three-quarters (+74%).

The outlook for construction costs

Construction costs in the U.S have been restrained for the past year. While not a lot of upward momentum is expected in the short-term, it is advisable to keep in mind a couple of factors.

Commodities are basic inputs into all building products. Exceptional current GDP growth in emerging nations, plus a trend toward more speculation in raw materials on stock and mercantile exchanges, has already caused a number of commodity prices to move up dramatically from their trough levels.  

The first impact on construction markets may appear in the residential sector. A gradual pickup in housing starts will continue throughout the remainder of this year and lumber supplies are tight.

U.S. dollars per square foot construction costs –
By type of structure – April 2010